Unified Communications Services

Swisscom Delivers Unified Communications Services with Private Cloud Solution from HP

Managed voice and data services provide maximum flexibility for Swisscom’s corporate users

Topics:Converged Infrastructure, Instant-On Enterprise, Cloud

BERN, Switzerland -- HP today announced that Swisscom AG, Switzerland’s leading telecoms provider, has launched a managed service for hosted unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) based on an HP private cloud infrastructure.

As well as providing mobile communication services to around 5.8 million customers and 1.6 million broadband connections, Swisscom now offers UC&C as a managed service for its corporate customers. A high-performance HP Converged Infrastructure based on HP CloudSystem  enables Swisscom to offer a rapidly deployed, fully managed service for unified communications at a fixed price per user per month.

“Integrated communications solutions are becoming increasingly complex for businesses to operate,” said Frank Fitzlaff, head of User Experience Design, Corporate Business, Swisscom. “Swisscom’s managed services help customers focus on their own businesses while we take care of their communications and collaboration infrastructures. HP’s mature, flexible solution is driving business growth for Swisscom by enabling us to roll out new services rapidly. HP CloudSystem Matrix has fundamentally changed the way we deliver business services.”

A robust, scalable HP CloudSystem Matrix provides a private cloud environment that allows Swisscom to deliver UC&C services in as little as four weeks. The virtualized platform gives Swisscom the flexibility to accommodate individual customer needs while reducing overall infrastructure costs. The service can be managed and run either in the Swisscom data center or on a dedicated environment in the customer’s own data center.

The private cloud solution in Swisscom’s data center was installed and implemented by HP Technology Services. Based on an HP CloudSystem  platform running VMware ESX, it includes:

• HP ProLiant BL460 G7 server blades for maximum throughput to support Swisscom’s business-critical applications;
• Robust, flexible 10 Gb HP 5820 networking switches, which automatically assign VLANs for lower bandwidth VoIP traffic, freeing bandwidth for high-speed broadband transmission;
• HP 3PAR V-Class Storage Systems for cloud computing, which deliver storage as a utility service simply, efficiently and flexibly;
• HP StoreOnce Backup Systems with data deduplication software developed by HP Labs, the company’s central research arm, which provide a simple, cost-effective disk backup solution to meet all Swisscom’s storage needs without increasing data center footprint;
• HP Data Protector software, which reduces backup and recovery complexity by protecting Swisscom’s virtual and physical applications from a central console, eliminating the need for multiple backup tools.

The core infrastructure for unifying communications and delivering the portal is based on resilient HP ProLiant BladeSystem c7000 enclosures with HP ProLiant BL460 G7 server blades, running VMware ESX for maximum resilience and availability.

To guard against loss of business-critical information, on-premise deployments use HP ProLiant DL380 G7 servers with an HP P4300 SAN (storage area network) running Microsoft® HyperV. Currently, around 60 percent of Swisscom’s Switzerland-based corporate customers use HP hardware in their data centers.

All on-site installations are supported by a four-year, 24/7 Support Plus 24 contract with HP Technology Services to ensure the reliability and performance of the whole infrastructure.

HP Converged Infrastructure is a key element to an Instant-On Enterprise. In a world of continuous connectivity, the Instant-On Enterprise embeds technology in everything it does to serve customers, employees, partners and citizens with whatever they need, instantly.

HP’s premier client event, HP Discover, takes place June 4-7 in Las Vegas.